Hami Hami is an old oasis-city along the northern route of the old Silk Road. Due to it’s strategic location, it has traded hands many, many times between the imperial Chinese, the Mongols, the Uyghurs, and various Turkic Central Asian…
A Backpacker’s Travel Guide to Dunhuang
Dunhuang Dunhuang was founded way back in 111 BC by Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty. It lies at the crossroads of two branches of the old Silk Road, and on the entrance to the Hexi corridor. Though you wouldn’t…
A Backpacker’s Travel Guide to Lanzhou
Lanzhou Lanzhou is the capital of Gansu province and about 3.5 million people call it home. It was a major stopping point on the Silk Road and is one of the main crossing points of the Yellow River. Lanzhou is…
A Backpacker’s Travel Guide to Xi’an
Xi’an Xi’an is a truly ancient city. It is more than 3,000 years old and, for more than 1,000 years of it’s history, it was the imperial capital of China. 13 different dynasties ruled from here, and in total 73 different…
A Beer Lover’s Guide to Oregon
Oregon is a paradise for beer lovers. Overall, it ranks within the top three in the nation for number of craft breweries per capita and Portland on its own has more than 40 microbreweries within it’s city limits, which is more…
The Top 250 Beers in the World: Mapped
I received a lot of positive feedback from my last beer mapping post on Belgium’s breweries and I wanted to follow it up with another map to promote beer travel. This time around, I’ve taken BeerAdvocate’s top 250 beers (as of June…
The Breweries of Belgium: A map for beer travel
Belgium is one of the best places in the world for beer and it is one of the best beer travel destinations. There are few places on earth where you’ll find as many amazing breweries offering such as wide a variety…
Dachau: Where it all began
Dachau was a first in many ways. It was the first concentration camp opened in Germany. It was one of the first symbols of the true evil that was about to be propagated by the Nazis. It was one…
Mbege me, baby: Tanzanian Banana Beer
Mbege comes from the beating heart of Africa, from the slopes of Mt. Kilamanjaro where it’s brewed by the Chaga people. I first found out about Mbege while watching on of my favorite shows: Bizarre Foods. It’s in the episode where…
A peek inside Prague’s Sex Machines Museum
Prague’s Sex Machines Museum is located right near the Old Town Square in the center of town and is very much a touristy trap. But, it’s also very much at home in Prague, considering the city’s reputation for slightly quirky…